Wheel covers flying off

[Brent Leach]

The tracks are so dry that the chances of packing a wheel with dust is minimal...time for a new safe invention.

I dont know what tracks you go to but I've seen several wheels get packed this year.

[BigRightRear]

yeah the hammer filled his at the grove

[Shafner79]

another simple solution to do is just tape the end of the button... how many wheel covers have come off and there's no tape on the buttons?

Tape on a muddy/dirty wheel cover will not work.

[MehalickMotorsports14]

another simple solution to do is just tape the end of the button... how many wheel covers have come off and there's no tape on the buttons?

Tape on a muddy/dirty wheel cover will not work.

Brake clean on a rag, wipe the area around the buttons, wipe dry with a paper towel or another rag, put it on the car, apply tape. been doing it for years.

[Sprintguy]

The true problem is the thing is aerodynamic like a frisbee and is being tossed at about 130 mph. I'm not 100% sure how much less deadly a plastic cover would be over a metal one. At 130 mph I think either could cause major injury. I'm no engineer but seems to me the best way to keep them from launching is to make them as unaerodynamic as possible. Somebody mentioned I think over on hoseheads to put some sorta flap on the inside. Sounded like a decent idea, but not so sure how you could keep the deal balanced etc while it was on the car.

My idea is pretty simple. Take a piece of adhesive backed foam about 3-4 inches thick and attach it to the inside part of the metal/plastic covers. That way when the deal comes off there the foam will catch the air like a sail and either drive it into the ground or toss it upwards dissipating the energy.

Not so sure how it would work in practice being I'm in no way an engineer but to me if you make it as unaerodynamic as possible when on its own it won't fly (as fast/far)

Short of outlawing the wheel covers (you pack the wheel full of mud, that's your problem, not mine), I think Kossuth has the most logical and practical solution. Take away the aerodynamics and Frisbee effect.

[JTR13]

The true problem is the thing is aerodynamic like a frisbee and is being tossed at about 130 mph. I'm not 100% sure how much less deadly a plastic cover would be over a metal one. At 130 mph I think either could cause major injury. I'm no engineer but seems to me the best way to keep them from launching is to make them as unaerodynamic as possible. Somebody mentioned I think over on hoseheads to put some sorta flap on the inside. Sounded like a decent idea, but not so sure how you could keep the deal balanced etc while it was on the car.

My idea is pretty simple. Take a piece of adhesive backed foam about 3-4 inches thick and attach it to the inside part of the metal/plastic covers. That way when the deal comes off there the foam will catch the air like a sail and either drive it into the ground or toss it upwards dissipating the energy.

Not so sure how it would work in practice being I'm in no way an engineer but to me if you make it as unaerodynamic as possible when on its own it won't fly (as fast/far)

I've posted something simular before, however my idea was a little more complicated but works off the same principal... Take a small square or triangle piece of material and mount it to the inside of the wheel cover with a spring loaded hindge, nothing fancy, just like one you can buy from the hardware store for a cabinet... You can lay that piece flat when you mount the cover, but if the cover flys off the spring loaded hindge will push the "fin" out perpendicular to the cover causing it to lose it's aerodynamics like a crappy paper air plane... Man I should stop suggesting this and just make and patent one, LOL, I could be giving a million dollar idea away, LOL...

I think the tether idea would work too, however it is certain that the tether cord would break almost immediately, however it could be just enough to take the angle of trajectory away from the cover, making it act like a really poorly thrown frisbie instead of a chinese fighting star, lol...

[kossuth]

The true problem is the thing is aerodynamic like a frisbee and is being tossed at about 130 mph. I'm not 100% sure how much less deadly a plastic cover would be over a metal one. At 130 mph I think either could cause major injury. I'm no engineer but seems to me the best way to keep them from launching is to make them as unaerodynamic as possible. Somebody mentioned I think over on hoseheads to put some sorta flap on the inside. Sounded like a decent idea, but not so sure how you could keep the deal balanced etc while it was on the car.

My idea is pretty simple. Take a piece of adhesive backed foam about 3-4 inches thick and attach it to the inside part of the metal/plastic covers. That way when the deal comes off there the foam will catch the air like a sail and either drive it into the ground or toss it upwards dissipating the energy.

Not so sure how it would work in practice being I'm in no way an engineer but to me if you make it as unaerodynamic as possible when on its own it won't fly (as fast/far)

I've posted something simular before, however my idea was a little more complicated but works off the same principal... Take a small square or triangle piece of material and mount it to the inside of the wheel cover with a spring loaded hindge, nothing fancy, just like one you can buy from the hardware store for a cabinet... You can lay that piece flat when you mount the cover, but if the cover flys off the spring loaded hindge will push the "fin" out perpendicular to the cover causing it to lose it's aerodynamics like a crappy paper air plane... Man I should stop suggesting this and just make and patent one, LOL, I could be giving a million dollar idea away, LOL...

I think the tether idea would work too, however it is certain that the tether cord would break almost immediately, however it could be just enough to take the angle of trajectory away from the cover, making it act like a really poorly thrown frisbie instead of a chinese fighting star, lol...

I'm not 100% sold on a tether. Reason being two fold.

1. If another car comes up along side a car and happens to run over that thing while it's still tethered it could catch/try to wind itself around the other car's wheel possibly causing a huge wreck.

2. It doesn't adhere to the KISS principle. If it will be a pita to deal with when say the car has a flat and gets changed during a yellow then it may not get reattached properly etc.

[JTR13]

The true problem is the thing is aerodynamic like a frisbee and is being tossed at about 130 mph. I'm not 100% sure how much less deadly a plastic cover would be over a metal one. At 130 mph I think either could cause major injury. I'm no engineer but seems to me the best way to keep them from launching is to make them as unaerodynamic as possible. Somebody mentioned I think over on hoseheads to put some sorta flap on the inside. Sounded like a decent idea, but not so sure how you could keep the deal balanced etc while it was on the car.

My idea is pretty simple. Take a piece of adhesive backed foam about 3-4 inches thick and attach it to the inside part of the metal/plastic covers. That way when the deal comes off there the foam will catch the air like a sail and either drive it into the ground or toss it upwards dissipating the energy.

Not so sure how it would work in practice being I'm in no way an engineer but to me if you make it as unaerodynamic as possible when on its own it won't fly (as fast/far)

I've posted something simular before, however my idea was a little more complicated but works off the same principal... Take a small square or triangle piece of material and mount it to the inside of the wheel cover with a spring loaded hindge, nothing fancy, just like one you can buy from the hardware store for a cabinet... You can lay that piece flat when you mount the cover, but if the cover flys off the spring loaded hindge will push the "fin" out perpendicular to the cover causing it to lose it's aerodynamics like a crappy paper air plane... Man I should stop suggesting this and just make and patent one, LOL, I could be giving a million dollar idea away, LOL...

I think the tether idea would work too, however it is certain that the tether cord would break almost immediately, however it could be just enough to take the angle of trajectory away from the cover, making it act like a really poorly thrown frisbie instead of a chinese fighting star, lol...

I'm not 100% sold on a tether. Reason being two fold.

1. If another car comes up along side a car and happens to run over that thing while it's still tethered it could catch/try to wind itself around the other car's wheel possibly causing a huge wreck.

2. It doesn't adhere to the KISS principle. If it will be a pita to deal with when say the car has a flat and gets changed during a yellow then it may not get reattached properly etc.

O I agree, personally I like my idea better, well because it was my idea, lol... Your #2 point is enough to convince me that it won't work... Your #1 though can happen with anything, I was at Outlaw tune-up at the Grove last month and saw the entire lower part of Luca Wolf's hood come off his Zemco car and smack into 2-3 cars behind him, and that was going into a turn, talk about a bad time to have a giant piece of material blocking your view, lol... Also, we're only talking about something like a 12 inch cord, nothing longer then that... I know these drivers can get pretty close together, but I don't see a foot long cord being able to get wrapped up in another cars wheel, if anything it might get wrapped up in the car it fell off of first, but I think you would see the cord snap off before any of that could happen...

[Shuey21]

Just happened at Selinsgrove last night came up and slammed the catch fence that's in front of the fans by the covered grandstand luckily, could've been bad.

[NEWBOMB TURK]

Just happened at Selinsgrove last night came up and slammed the catch fence that's in front of the fans by the covered grandstand luckily, could've been bad.

Yea, I saw it flying thru the air. Came of of Larry Kelehers car after a hurried tire change under the 2 lap rule. Was fairly close to hitting the flagman. The flagman never saw it but his assistant did. I was always against the 2 lap rule to start with. This just adds fuel to the fire. Something needs to be done before somebody gets seriously hurt or killed.

[Bicknell55]

Some modified tracks in NY have outlawed the dzus style covers this year. Grandview for sure, and I believe Big Diamond as well, made them illegal a few years ago. I haven't worked around a sprint car so I don't know if you could make the modified style cover (metal, mounted between the tire and the bead lock) work or not.

[ChickmagnetRacing]

Whatever just happened to the old-school foam inserts????

[stp2237]

I teach high school science and I have always worried about students in a lab situation that may cause an injury. In every workshop I have ever attended about lab safety, what was stressed was "foreseeable" and "preventable" situations. I might add that I have attended workshops run both by lawyers and lab professional personnel. In reading this forum I have come to the conclusion that wheel covers flying like through the air and causing injury is certainly a "foreseeable" problem, (injury to arm of a man at a local track), and some of the solutions might lead a lawyer to assume that the problem IS "preventable". I hope there are not legal representatives "trolling" message boards and might have the same thoughts as I do. I can assure you if I owned a race track, race car, or worked for a organization that sanctioned racing I would have had some ruling in place NOW! I am fairly sure New Jersey banned the type of covers that have been discussed here and only foam or bolted to actual wheel are legal.

[NEWBOMB TURK]

There's no excuse for them to be flying off. If a crew member doesn't have the ability to push in a screw and give it a half turn then he doesn't need to be in the pits. Everybody should be checking the other guys work. There is plenty of time. It things are worn or damaged then they should be replaced. On a flat under the two lap rule, since they are in a hurry, only foam should be allowed to be put back in. 99% of this comes down to carelessness.

[pajamie]

Whatever just happened to the old-school foam inserts????

The foam inserts really aren't for keeping mud out of a wheel.. They are used to keep heat in the wheel/tire.. And honestly.. Hearing how the Saturday night track is using tires up.. Worse thing you could do is put a foamy in the wheel..

Guys just gotta check dzus springs and make sure the dzus buttons aren't broke and there should not be an issue...